Always with Me
by Unofficial Cullen
Summary: ONE SHOT - Crossover with the movie Seven Pounds. All Human. Ultimately ends with B&E. Please R


**Author's Note**

**Disclaimer: All Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I only like to make them do exciting, new things. I also do not own anything from the movie, "Seven Pounds."**

**This is a crossover one shot, starting towards the end of the movie "Seven Pounds" and continuing on. I watched the movie recently and was blown away by it. Since I only watched it once, not everything will match up exactly and in many ways was not my intention to do so. This fan fiction started playing in my mind, and I just had to write it. Note: Ben Thomas from the movie had a lot of personality characteristics of cannon Edward, but I decided to give this a twist by making a Twilight character OOC and having a brother. Bella also has sister and nieces, as per the movie.**

**This is told completely from Bella's point of view.**

**I hope you enjoy it! Please review!**

**Always with Me**

"Bella, are you ready to get your new heart?" Dr. Angela Weber asked softly. A small smile touched her lips, but as I nodded, I noticed that it did reach her blood shot eyes.

She seemed to see the question in my expression and squeezed my hand. "I'll take good care of you. I promise."

As I was wheeled to the operating room, I thought about Ben. How we might be able to have a long life together. The thought of having more than mere weeks to live was heady. _If I make it_, I cautioned myself.

As I began to feel the effects of the anesthesia, I thought, _I love you, Ben. Hope to see you soon._

I lived through the surgery and managed the two week recovery in the hospital without rejecting my new heart. I wished I knew who the donor had been, as I would be ever thankful for their gift, but the nurses said the donor information was listed as anonymous. My sister and nieces came to visit when Dr. Weber said I could have visitors. I left messages for Ben, but he didn't call back or come to the hospital. It wasn't like him. Was he okay?

My home nurse got me settled back at home. I was so glad to be home to Duke, my Great Dane. I wasn't strong enough to take him for walks yet, so a neighbor boy down the street stopped each day to help.

How I had wished that Ben had been there, waiting for me to come home, but only his suit remained.

_I'd invited him over for dinner. I made my favorite dish, eggplant parmesan, and wore my prettiest dress. I smiled as I let him into the house, seeing that he was wearing the ever present suit. I had a surprise for him._

"_I'm making dinner, why don't you go get changed?" I asked in my best flirty voice as I pointed to my bedroom._

_He paused for the merest second and then walked to my room. _

_I went out onto the patio, lit the candles on the table, and placed the food on the table. It smelled delicious. I took a sip of my wine. Something I really shouldn't be indulging in right now, but I'd decided I was going to enjoy my last few weeks on this Earth._

_I looked up as Ben appeared onto the patio. He looked incredible in a polo shirt and jeans. His dark hair was messy from pulling the shirt over his head, and I noticed that the color of the shirt brought out his russet skin tones. The short sleeves hugged large biceps. His jeans encased muscular legs, that had previously had been hidden by his suit pants. _

"_You like?" I asked playfully. I knew I did._

_He tugged on his shirt, "It's pink." He said, as if it was a slight to his manliness._

_I laughed, "Its salmon."_

_He mumbled, "Salmon's meant to be eaten not worn."_

_I kissed his cheek, "Sit down."_

_After dinner, I got him to dance with me a little. I couldn't get close enough to this man. _

_He surprised me by covering my eyes and leading me away from the patio. When I opened them again, I was in my workshop in front of "The Beast," my ancient, beloved printing press that hadn't worked in years. He looked at me expectantly._

"_You cleaned 'The Beast'?" I asked, confused._

"_No, I fixed it." He exclaimed, triumph in his voice._

_I knew he'd been an aerospace engineer before working for the IRS, but "The Beast" and space shuttles were on completely different levels of the evolutionary scale._

_Not really believing him, I started up the machine, and it worked! My baby was working again, all because of Ben. Tears filled my eyes as I hugged him tight._

"_Thank you." We began to kiss. I had to remind myself to breathe. He broke away and asked that I wait. He returned after awhile, and he seemed different, desperate. I was confused by the change, but stopped thinking as he started kissing me again. We moved back to the house and then to my room. There we made the sweetest love I had ever experienced._

I picked up his shirt and inhaled the woodsy, musky smell that still clung to it. I stripped out off my shirt and pants, and put on his shirt. It came down to my knees and the arms were much too long, but I didn't care. I curled up on my bed and called his number. I listened to his voice mail message just to hear his voice. After we'd made love, we'd talked of marriage and of babies. I was certain that he'd gotten scared of what would happen to me … to us because of my illness. Or maybe he'd decided he didn't want to be with a broken, dying woman… I cried myself to sleep.

*****

I called his phone each night to hear his voice. A month later, when I called, I received an automated message saying the number was no longer in use.

I realized I couldn't waste my new lease on life by wallowing because whatever his reasons, Ben was gone. I met with a financial adviser to help me manage my money for when my tax extension came up and so I could save up to travel in the future. As I felt better, I started up my invitation business full time. Business was good.

One day there was a knock on my door, I gasped as I saw the shadowy image of a man through the curtains next to the door. Ben!!

I flung open the door, a million questions forming in my mind, only to stop without a word. It wasn't Ben. It was a man who looked a lot like him, but it wasn't him.

"Bella Swan?" he asked hesitantly.

I nodded.

He cleared his throat, "Uh, my name is Benjamin Black."

I gaped at him, "But that's not possible."

"His real name is Jacob."

"Excuse me?"

"My brother used my identity." He looked around and noticed my next door neighbor working in her flower bed. "Listen, could I please come inside? There's a lot I need to tell you."

I led him to the patio, not really uncomfortable having a stranger in my house.

He proceeded to tell me that Ben … Jacob was dead. That he'd killed himself so that people would receive his organs. I had received his heart. I stood up and walked away from table horrified by his words. Ben was gone, truly gone. His heart beat in my chest. I couldn't breathe. I slumped onto the ground and sobbed. Ben, the real one, looked on for a while, and then came over and placed reassuring arms around me. After some time my tears dried, and he continued to tell me about the man who more secrets than I'd thought possible. A man I loved with all my heart, but couldn't make his pain go away. He told me about the car accident that had taken Be… Jacob's wife and people in another car. How Jacob had blamed himself and deemed himself unworthy of surviving. That Jacob had donated part of his lungs to Ben and given part of his liver to Holly, a wonderful lady and dedicated social worker. That Jacob had donated bone marrow to a little boy named Seth who would have died without it. How he had planned for a long time to kill himself so that others could benefit from his organs.

I felt so sorry for Ben. Jacob had been his only brother. Now he was gone. He was gone, and I was alive. I felt the panic start to rise again.

"He wanted you to have this." Ben said and gave me an envelope with my name on it. I ran my fingers over my name.

He cleared his throat, his voice full of unshed tears, "Here's my number. If you need anything or just want to talk, I'll be there."

He sounded so much like his brother, that I felt a stab of pain in my chest.

I stood up and held out my hand, "Thank you, Ben. I appreciate it."

He reached past my hand and gathered me into a hug.

****

It took a week for me to get up the courage to open the envelope.

_Dear Bella,_

_If you're reading this, you have a new heart. I hope that this heart will work strong and true for you. Please don't feel guilty that you're alive, and I'm not. This plan was put in place long before we met. But what I hadn't planned was to love again, to find someone so beautiful and selfless. Remember when we sat in the fields, and you told me all the things you wanted to do? Do them. Live, love, and be happy._

_Yours,_

_Jacob_

****

I was seeing a therapist as part of my heart transplant recovery. In addition to working through my feelings and grief with him, I joined a suicide survivors group. I began to heal.

Part of dealing with my grief was seeking out others that Jacob had helped. Each one of them was a good, decent person. Jacob had been so careful with his gifts. I made connections with the other recipients, becoming true friends with the others who had received a second chance at life.

As the year anniversary approached, I still hadn't met one of the recipients. I had avoided meeting him. Jacob's gift had given him the ability to see. But eyes were the gateway to the soul…would I see Jacob in those eyes or Edward? It took time to work up the courage to find out.

I called the number Ben had given me for Edward.

"Hello?" A woman with a high, soft voice answered.

I stammered out, "This is Bella Swan. May I please speak with Edward Cullen?"

"Bella!" I knew you were going to call!"

"You did?" I asked, stunned. _Who was this woman?_

"Yep. I'm Edward's sister, Alice. I'd heard that you were contacting the other recipients and that it was only a matter of time that you would want to meet Edward."

"Oh. So is he there?"

"He's at the park right now. He and the local children's choir are performing. You can still catch part of it if you hurry."

"Thank you, Alice." I hung up, gave Duke a loving pat, and headed out with a second thought.

Little Angels. That's the only way I could describe the rows of children in polo shirts and khaki pants. Their angelic voices filled the warm park air accompanied by beautiful music.

I watched transfixed, listening. What a wonderful moment this was. As the song came to an end, the crowd applauded, and the children came down from the risers to find their parents. I began to walk toward the piano as Edward stood up. I held my breath as he turned.

Wild, bronze hair waved above his handsome face, the scars around his eyes made him even more distinctive looking, but did not detract from his appearance. If anything, they were like badges of honor, just like the ones on my chest. I'd seen an old picture of him. His eyes had been green, dulled with milky whiteness of blindness. Now they were a dark brown, a deeper brown than my own. I unconsciously noted his pale skin, his impressive height, his lean, yet muscular body, his large hands, his long fingers. But I could not help but return to his eyes, to stare to the point of rudeness. He looked up and returned my steady gaze. Then he broke out into a half grin. "You must be Bella."

I nodded.

He tilted his head toward the equipment, "I need to talk with the crew moving the stuff. It shouldn't take long. Would you like to get some coffee with me?" He asked rather shyly.

"Yes, I'd like that."

We walked to a nearby diner. It was clear from the greetings that Edward was a regular. I was surprised by the glare I received from the waitress who seated us.

I asked Edward how he'd met Jacob.

"Actually, he called me at work. I was a telemarketer for a meat company at the time. He gave me crap about being a vegetarian working at a meat company. I didn't know what to say. He got me all twisted up. So I just hung up on him."

"I'm a vegetarian too."

"You are? Now that I can see, I'm learning to cook."

"Maybe I could share some of my recipes. I make a mean eggplant parmesan." I bit my lip and looked down as memories of the last time I made that dish slammed into me.

Edward's hand came into view as it tentatively covered mine.

"How did you meet him?" he asked softly.

"He followed me around the hospital for a few days. I should have known that even the IRS wasn't that persistent."

He laughed, "I met him in person here."

"Really?"

"He asked me about the pie and told me I should ask out Jessica, one of the waitresses here. I told him that she didn't see me."

_So Jessica was likely the one trying to kill me with her thoughts right now._

I laughed and squeezed his hand. "Just because you were blind, didn't mean she was. You're very handsome, Edward."

I blushed. _Way to insert foot in mouth, Bella._

He merely smiled shyly. He had a good, kind soul. I could see why Jacob had picked him.

"I knew you were Bella. I'd heard how beautiful you were. How kind. He must have loved you very much."

I misted at this. "Yeah, I think he did."

We talked about staying in touch, and we went our separate ways.

****

I was busy with my business and started some traveling. While I enjoyed experiencing new things without worrying about overworking my heart or becoming fatigued, a new uneasiness settled on me. I found myself thinking of Edward Cullen at odd times. I sometimes dreamed of watching him playing in the park, the sunlight glinting off his reddish tinted hair. My fingers actually tingled when I thought of running my fingers through them.

But how could I want someone else? What about Jacob?

I worked through this in therapy. Jasper pointed out that Jacob had found love with me after his wife, Leah had died. Wouldn't he expect me to find love and happiness? Jasper's words reminded me of Jacob's letter. Yes, I believed that he would want me to be happy.

I reached out to Edward, first in friendship and as we spent more time together, our feelings for each other grew. He even liked Duke. We got married two years later.

I stood watching the ocean, thinking of how wonderful my life was. Part of me would always love Jacob. He would always be with me. His heart was mine.

Strong hands reached around me from behind to gently rub my swollen belly and a body came to rest against my back.

Edward. We had no secrets from each other. We shared our joys and pain together. Edward was my light.

He whispered in my ear, "Jacob asked me what color the ocean was, and I answered blue. He cussed me out." He gave a little laugh, "I didn't understand then, but I understand now."

I turned toward him, and we kissed.


End file.
